Moore Twp. Man Shot

Gunman Then Kills Self

A Moore Township man was shot in the chest at his home last night before the gunman apparently shot himself to death, authorities said.

Richard Truszkowski, the gunman's apparent victim, was flown by helicopter to Lehigh Valley Hospital Center after the shootings, which occurred about 8:50 p.m.

No information on his condition was available early this morning, but police indicated his wounds were serious.

"It appears we're investigating a murder-suicide," an officer at the Moore Township police station said.

Authorities declined to release the dead gunman's name last night.

Blue Mountain Control Center received a call at 8:44 p.m. about harassment at Truszkowski's house at 900 Summit Road. Three minutes later, dispatchers got a call that shots were fired at the house, they said.

According to neighbors, Truszkowski lives alone and was being visited by his daughters. The daughters and Truszkowski's ex-wife went to a neighbor's house to call police about the shootings, neighbors told a reporter on the scene.

Fire police had N. Summit Road blocked off about a quarter mile in each direction, not allowing reporters near the house.

Neighbors said they heard reports that two men came to the home and ordered Truszkowski's daughters into the cellar, shot Truszkowski and then one of the men wielding a shotgun turned it on himself.

A man was pronounced dead at the scene by Northampton County Coroner Joseph Reichel. Reichel was not available for comment early this morning.

Also at the scene were a state police crime unit, Moore Township and Bath police, and the Klecknersville Rangers.

Police did not confirm a third man was in the house when the shootings occurred.

Neighbors said Truszkowski was in his late 20s to early 30s.

Gladys Heckman, who lives next door to Truszkowski, said his ex-wife, April, went shopping last night while he watched their daughters, ages 8 and 10, until she returned to pick them up.

Heckman said April Truszkowski told police that when she returned home she heard what sounded like a firecracker, "and when she opened the door she smelled gun powder and saw him (Truszkowski) laying on the floor, and she and the two girls ran out and came to our house."

Heckman called for an ambulance and then April Truszkowski called police, Heckman said.

Heckman described Truszkowski, who she said is a contractor and hauls ground in the area, as "a friendly man. He would always wave when he'd come by here."

Earlier this year, Truszkowski was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the estate of a 39-year-old Moore Township woman who died March 1, 1989, after she was hit by the pickup truck Truszkowski was driving on Point Phillips Road in the township.

No criminal charges were filed against Truszkowski in that accident, in which he told police he was blinded by the headlights of on-coming vehicles when he struck Mei-Hua Huang Liu, who lived at 1103 Smith Gap Road. The woman was walking along the side of the road when Truszkowski's truck struck her, police said at that time.